1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in percussion carrier apparatus having the capability to spin the instrument or drum. More particularly, the present invention relates to the construction and mounting of the swivel mechanism between the carrier harness and a marching bass drum.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 1,130,689, which issued to Atkinson and U.S. Pat. No. 1,179,063, which issued to Aldrete disclose certain body supported carrying devices. The carrying devices rely on supports which are looped over the neck and cross the shoulder. Applying this concept to percussion instrument carriers for marching drums, U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,880, which issued to Walters, discloses a drum carrier for spinner drum. While this patent discloses a carrier for a spinning drum, it does not disclose that the swivel mechanism has a spring-loaded locking mechanism which allows the drum to be locked in place at various rotation angles.
This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism wherein the two support bars include axial mounting holes which accept support rods from the drum carrier harness, allowing the carrier to be worn under a conventional performer's uniform without altering the uniform. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism that allows the drum to be easily attached or removed from the carrier. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism that allows the drum to be placed on the floor with side support in order to allow the drum to resonate freely in a quasi-horizontal position. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism which has a bearing width which is at least 10 times its thickness, which serves to provide a robust bearing design for longer life.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,158, which issued to Penn, discloses a spinning drum carrier. While this patent discloses a spinning drum carrier, it does not disclose that the swivel mechanism has a spring-loaded locking mechanism which allows the drum to be locked in place at various rotation angles. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism wherein the two support bars include axial mounting holes which accept support rods from the drum carrier harness, allowing the carrier to be worn under a conventional performer's uniform without altering the uniform. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism that allows the drum to be easily attached or removed from the carrier. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism that allows the drum to be placed on the floor with side support in order to allow the drum to resonate freely in a quasi-horizontal position. This patent does not disclose a swivel mechanism which has a bearing width which is at least 10 times its thickness, which serves to provide a robust bearing design for longer life.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,610, which issued to Hsieh and U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,492, which issued to May disclose certain carrier assemblies for percussion instruments having a pair of “J-bars’ which extend from the belly-plate of the carrier to supports mounted on the drum. These patents and other prior art do not disclose supports mounted on the drum which extend vertically to support a bass drum in order to allow the carrier to be worn under a conventional performer's uniform. Other prior art of interest and pertinent to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,123, which issued to Johannsen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,839, which issued to Dranchak; U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,401, which issued to May; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,653, which issued to Shimada.
Various prior inventions have been disclosed that provide a percussion instrument carrier which allows the drum to spin, but none of the listed inventions provide the claims above. The ideal invention would provide a support mechanism that allows the drum to spin, allows the drum to quickly hold in place at various rotational positions, allows the drum to be easily mounted to or removed from the carrier, allows the drum carrier to be worn underneath a conventional performer's uniform, and allows the drum to be placed on the floor with side support in order to allow the drum to resonate freely in a quasi-horizontal position. The ideal invention would also mount stably to existing drum designs. The design of the spinner should also be robust and minimize stresses in order to have a long useful life. The proposed invention provides these features.